Mikhail Beketov, 50 years old, a critic of local authorities in a town on Moscow’s northern fringe, is recovering in a Moscow hospital after unidentified attackers beat him close to death last month, forcing the amputation of one leg. His case has received unusually copious coverage on state TV and a front-page article in the leading government newspaper, and has been taken up by a top Kremlin advisory body.

Pro-Kremlin officials say the attention shows the government is getting serious about protecting journalists. But local and international media-rights groups are skeptical. Some suspect it is a ploy to defuse social tension at a time of financial crisis and to deflect attention from the closely watched trial of murdered investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.